Blogland Tour

I have been invited to participate in the

 Blogland Tour 

by everyone's favorite Blog Fairy

Linda at Life and Linda.
She was so kind to think of me.
Thank you Linda!

Linda is so beautiful and talented and inspiring. When she wrote her Blogland Tour everything she wrote could have been about me.  I think we are kindred spirits!
You may have seen the Blogland Tour going around where a blogger is asked to answer four questions about their blogging experience and then nominate 2 to 3 other bloggers to participate.

(1.  What am I working on?) Of course with fall in the air  I am getting Halloween ideas swirling in my head, but also  finishing up the garden and gardening ideas.  I prefer to do my fall decorating after Halloween (although I will throw in a pumpkin here and there).  
I just love Halloween because the kiddies love it so much.   They go running through my house and if I didn't put up one of their favorite items, they get after me.  I get so much joy from watching them enjoy my holiday decorating and cooking.  My grandchildren really inspire me to be fun!!! Someday they will say, "Remember crazy Grandma Jackie?" Maybe they already do!!
I am ready to publish my 7th volume of my blog to preserve it for posterity and I make a copy for all five of my  children.  Twice my blog disappeared and the shock of it pushed me to print it on Blog2print.
I am also busy with creating books for my eight grandchildren.
Grandma is writing a "Book of Cute" for each one of them with pictures of  them, often with Grandma, and fun things they said or did.  I already have fun reading through them.  My computer crashed and that was the one thing they were not able to recover!! Fortunately about a month before, I was inspired to print their books off and put them in binders.  They weren't exactly laid out how I would have wanted them but I felt so fortunate that I listened to that still small voice and printed them or I would have had to start all over and that probably would never have happened.
In addition I have been invited to teach several holiday tablescaping classes to groups in the area.

(How does my work differ from others in its genre?)
Everything on my blog, well practically everything in my life, centers around my family.
I wanted to create a blog that covers all aspects of life from food to travel,  gardening to spiritual, fun, holidays,  beauty and anything inbetween.   Like Elphaba, I didn't want to be limited.
My family and creating for them and our friends is what I love in life.
I love beautiful things and I love to create beautiful spaces and I mostly love to give people beautiful experiences.

(Why do I write what I do?)

When I first started writing,

I wrote to capture my creative

expressions whether it was a 

beautiful dessert, a lovely garden,

or a beautiful table.

My husband commented after

awhile that my blog captured

our lives more than my journal

so now my writing is often to capture

our lives.

I also write to teach.  I am thrilled

with how the internet has become

a mostly free teaching tool. I love

to include step by step pictures so

that others can learn and have fun

creating too.

(How does my writing process work?)

Now I plan more in my writing

process than I did at first.  I also

take more time with my photography

(usually) and I am constantly inspired

by what I see around me.

I try to involve my friends and

family.  They all love to be featured

on a blog, to contribute an idea or

a recipe or have me photograph

a party.  I love that they are excited

about my blogging too.

I usually start by letting the

pictures tell the story.  How

blessed we are to have such

wonderful cameras and computers

to help in our writing process.  

My last post was taken all with my

Iphone camera.  A few years ago

bloggers would post a photo and

then apologize for the quality because

it was taken with their phone.  Now

look what our phones can do.  We

always have a camera on hand!

I think there should be one more

question

---

How much do I love blogging now?

I love it more and more and

hopefully I am getting better

and better at it, although sometimes

when I look back at a post, I marvel

that I could have created something

that beautiful!  It seems a waste to

have it lost in the archives of my blog.

Then Pinterest comes in where it 

can continue to circulate.  I just love that!

Life gets crazy and busy and I

love how understanding blogging

friends are about that.  I love that

they don't mind if you take a break

or slow down if life is just spinning

around you.  I hope to keep blogging

always.

I would like to nominate

two lovely ladies 

---

Joni at Red Couch Recipes,

of course since she was the

one who "forced" me to start

my own blog rather than be a

guest on hers.  Joni used to say she

wasn't creative and watching her now,

I realize she just didn't have an outlet

for it.  She is super creative.

I would also like to nominate

Rachel at A Little Cuppa Tea.

I have known Rachel since she

was a little girl and she was my

oldest daughter's friend growing up.

Rachel has so much talent, she just

explodes with it.  She is always so busy

creating beauty in other people's homes

and lives that she often doesn't have 

time to write it all down.  She also 

spends her life trotting the globe!  

She is one lucky lady and shares

it with us.

I love both of these women as people

but I love their blogs too.

Go and visit them and continue

the Blogland Tour.

Thanks again Linda for this

opportunity and for all of

the other great bloggers out there

who share so freely and beautifully.

Make Your Blog Permanent - Create A Book

Part of my fall decor on my coffee table

is now my blog - in book form!

Those of you who were with me in the

spring might remember two days when my

blog completely disappeared - no explanation!

After nearly a year of pouring my heart into 

my blog, it was very disheartening to find

that it was shut down.  Two days later it 

was back, but it was then I decided I wanted 

a permanent copy in book form.

Another company was recommended to me,

but I couldn't get it to upload my pictures,

and after two days of messing with it,

I went online to see what people suggested.

I ended up with Blog 2 Print and within 5 minutes

they were able to tell me that I had too many

pictures for one book.  I decided to split it

into 3 books and each one literally took less

than 4 minutes to upload.  I  then just had to

pick my cover and pick a picture for the front

and for the back and that was it. 

So I went from this 

to this-

When I received them in the mail,

there was such a sense of relief

that I couldn't have it all lost 

overnight.

The coffee table has changed

for Thanksgiving with a 

floral that I made in neutrals.

I started by filling it with foam

and then added silks, natural

balls, a silk artichoke, calla lillies

and a tassel.

The turkey goes fancy in organza

and velvet.

Everything sits in a tray with a 

bronze scarf anchoring the 

trayscape.

A pretty ceramic pumpkin

finishes out the vignette.

I had over 3600 pictures to upload.  Each book

cost me about $100 to print but 

they range from 200 to 300 pages each.  The 

above is the compressed version, which ends

up being cheaper and I prefer it.

This one is the other option which is

printed exactly as the blog is done.  I felt

there was too much empty space and it

is more expensive as it takes more pages.

This would be a great Christmas present

to yourself.

(I have not received any money 

from Blog 2 Print, I just wanted to

share this with you and tell you how

pleased I am.)

I will be posting this with

Tabletop Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday
Open House Party
Flaunt It Friday
Show And Tell
 Potpourri Friday

Weekend Wrapup

Metamorphosis Monday